Helge Tennø

When the marketing becomes the product

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A short while ago in my favourite nightclub anywhere in the world which I wrote my next post under (with you tomorrow), a young couple from Italy got talking to me while I smoked a cigarette outside on the stairway.

The girl asked me what I do. Well there was a time when being a planner was too hard to sound-bite without sounding pompous, but I was fortunate enough on this occasion, to have the company of a writer who implied he wrote copy to keep his head above water, and  the girlfriend who worked in advertising as a creative. They were from Milan and so I remembered I'd been there two years ago for the global creative review that JWT takes very seriously and which still takes place I think each quarter. More on that over here if you're interested.

We talked briefly about where was hip and hot, and we had one of those deliciously violent agreements that rapidly settled on South American and specifically Argentinia and Brazil as serving up some of the hottest advertising on the planet. Second choice was that Scandinavia was totally on top of its game, to which I added that it's my belief that the Scandinavians are consistently and coherently pumping out some of the best planning thinking on the globe right now and thus validating the planning discipline.

Arguably this part of Europe is now ahead of London, and New York (with the exception of Lee Maschemeyer and Faris) and in some ways,  as is the Scandinavian tradition, is ostensibly chipping away at reconciling what I recently like to call The Grand Theory.

This is the one planners are (I feel) morally obliged to attempt to pull together the unavoidable yet disparate ends of both wealth creation and sustainable consumption i.e. doing the right thing the right way at the right time with the right people, because surely that is the only challenge worth applying our collectives mind to; The unexamined life not worth living and all that?

Let's be candid. The creative community's core skills and output shouldn't be burdened with this Sisyphean task AND the need to recognise the importance and value of awards in our business and more importantly peoples appreciation of communication well thought through. Our account people are, (and should) be too busy getting on with keeping our collective shit together doing the grown up stuff like running our clients business and keeping them happy.

I was thinking specifically of Helge Tenne from Norway, when I talked about the Scandinavian (Arctic?) circle with the Italians, but I could just as easily talk about both the creative and intellectual coherency eminating from Sweden and Finland too.

In any case (don't I just go on?) this latest  presentation is a great example of the quality of thinking I'm excited about, and which points towards a much more responsible and less opportunistic role for marketing communications in the future, although that isn't the purpose of Helge's presenation specifically.

And if any of that sounds like rubbish (which it probably is) then I urge you to take a tangential tour to this podcast with one of my favourite thinkers Doug Rushkoff and listen to the raw authenticity of the radio medium uncut and sprinkled with idiosyncratic thought-points worth pausing over two if not three times. 

Excellent media in action.

Right. As you were.

Human Behaviour

A few weeks ago I pulled an all nighter in a Filipino Karaoke (don't ask) and I was dumbstruck at how effective the stickers on the stairs (no elevator) were at communicating exactly who was in the building. Like local advertising on steroids for me, as by the time I got to the top floor there was no way to forget the company on the second floor. This however is more fun and inclusive and for me works as VW territory.

LG

Way back here in my ChungKing Express post, when talking about the duplication culture of China and Asia excluding Japan, I tried to imply that while not seeing evidence of real innovation there was definitely an emergence of what I now see more clearly as a technology remix culture as evidenced by the solar panel and telescopic lens that came with my mobile phone now languishing in Bangkok storage until my next move is more clear.

Today I see that LG have taken this great idea of solar panel charged batteries and run with it for the launch of the LG GD510 phone which you can read more about over at the Pattaya Rag Blogspot. I knew what I was trying to convey at the time of my own post which was both critical of duplication culture (or copying if you will) but seeing the LG post has crystallized my thinking and I believe that Asia is emerging as a centre of technological remix culture which in this instance is both a smart idea and one that scores well on sustainable living metrics. Although since my own phone was stolen recently (yes, again) I've suffered from inaccessibility for work related communications but also lapped up the peacefulness and lack of interruptions which tucks nicely into my previous post.

I'm also trying to see the cops tomorrow for the identity parade for my stolen life, but the last time I spoke to the investigating team about it they hung up on me. Which is why I'm writing it here. So now we're clear.

Distraction over Interruption in Social Media (Great Apes)

I'm reading Great Apes at the moment by Will Self and came across this ricochet or crossover point (if you wish) in the text of Mark Earls IPA social big picture draft. 

Mark writes: 

Sociolinguists use the term “phatic” to describe the relational value created by what therefore amounts to the inarticulate ‘grunting and stroking’ involved in this kind of communication : they seem to be a way of keeping communications lines open and relationships alive. Being the Super Social Primate species that we are, we do this kind of thing naturally and gleefully: without prompting, huge numbers of us Brits have taken to texting over the last decade - from zero to 5BN+ texts a month in the UK alone (to put it in perspective £7.8m of donations to Comic Relief this year via short text code). And we do the same with the likes of Facebook and Twitter, to create an even steeper adoption curve. Indeed, the UK beat the US by a few months to the critical point where social media overtook pornography in terms of Internet usage.

Will Self writes:

But perhaps most significant of all is the human attitude to touch. It is this that appears so acutely inchimp. Humans, because of their lack of protective coat, have not evolved the complex rituals of grooming and touch that so define Chimpanzee social organisation and gesticulation. Imagine not being groomed! It is almost unthinkable to a chimpanzee that a significant portion of the day should not be given over to this most cohering and sensual of activities. Undoubtedly it is this lack of grooming that renders human sexuality so bizarre to us.

So where does marketing fit into this picture? Is coitus interruptus the new 'money shot' for interruptive marketing communications or as I've written else where but not elaborated on, is there now a need to explore deeper and further all the dimensions of distraction over interruption? I've got some ideas for this.

One of my main complaints with one of the recent Facebook facelifts is that within the Facebook environment I find it too 'busy' for want of a better word. The distraction quotient was too high and that's not factoring in the interruptive element of the built in messenger service where it's entirely possible to be hijacked from an interruptive experience to a distractive one (or vice versa) and forget completely about the original content immersion (say reading the mail or catching up on all your photos (yes you lot).

I think it's this we need to investigate further and realistically there should be only one aperture for either interruptive or distractive (the two can have a overlapping qualities depending on what preceeded the experience being processed). So there you have it... and I'm way too experienced in telling the truth (you can't handle it folks) to spill the beans where I picked up this thinking on the net but I'll tell you to your face if you ask.

As a more interesting, and humanist aside Will Self informs us (seriously or not I don't know but I do know enough cat and dog lovers to give this thought serious credence). He writes, once again in the Authors Note:

It may even transpire that the behaviours (British spelling) of domesticated humans which reinforce this theory are in fact dependent on some form of morphic, resonant association with wild populations. Wipe out the wild humans and even the domesticated ones who have learnt to sign (some humans have a lexicon of five hundred or more ES signs) may fall motionless. Gesticulation between our two species will be at an end*.

I find that fascinating and it may further explain our enduring fascination with Zoos. 


In any case should the gesticulation across our species with each other, 'fall motionless' our nobility (as a species) is eroded no doubt when we losing opportunities to pet, pat, stroke or even yell melodramatic vulgarities at our favourite pets (a dog say) over spilt milk. We know that personal insult to Canines are never really embraced in the same way as canine does to homo sapien when say compared to harsh exchanges between two humans where the sensitivity is markedly more sensitive and infinitely more long lasting. Without this gesticulation across the species what will we resort to when feeling our way around the subject of venting steam? Are we diminished by throttling every other species around us with which we interact through unfettered capitalism? Are the Chimps more important that we've ever suspected?

...anyway I appear to have been distracted both you and myself by this point. I apologise for that.

* Will Self plays around interchangeably with humans and chimps when reinforcing our genetic proximity.


Update: I've coincidentally stumbled across these two terrific related articles in Fast Forward written by my friend Rob Patterson who is well worth adding to your RSS feeds.

Demographics & The Vicar of Clerkenwell

photo

Last week I purchased the International Express newspaper to see what it was all about and apart from being stuffed with the sort of Jingoistic journalism trash that one expects from what I presume is a Daily Express sister title I creamed through it in 15 minutes and ripped out the bits that were interesting.

One article penned by the chaste and pious Anne Widdecombe tackled Boris Johnson, , another Tory I don't like much, for suggesting that Ramadam is something the UK should embrace.

I loved the way that Anne resorted to "the British way of life" as if it were an institution that the FMCG consumer revolution hadn't overturned post second world war. They always do make me smirk, although this might be a good time to say I think John Major was the finest Prime Minister we ever had in my lifetime even though he too was prone to making cricket and old maidens references.

Anyway demographics are an important subject because the reality of early 21st century United Kingdom is that while Christianity dwindles to nothing. Under the full flame power of people like Richard Dawkins, Islam will be the predominant religion in the United Kingdom in the future. How ready are we for it?

Now, why we may have not paid much attention to the future, while strip harvesting the British Empire and specifically partioning Pakistan and India (not forgetting our invasion and seperation of Bangladesh) we're now snookered, because we can't talk about having our cake and eating it. 

We plundered and caned to death a few Islamic countries and while power will resist any change that means praying five times a day towards Mecca, I see no more interesting solution than all the other UK religions (including the U.S originated Mormons for reasons I'll get into later) from embracing a one month, day only (not the night) period of fasting for what I think are great reasons.

We're obese, we fret over the lack of self control we seem to have lost, we're surrounded by a disenfranchised and fast growing Islamic brothers family. We don't even understand the power of frugality that Islam shares with it's brothers and sisters...and if our manners are out of order we should reconsider them. 

Maybe the United Kingdom will end up like some kind of East Timor circa 1975 when the Indonesians invaded Dilli and rounded up the women before flying them off by helicopter to be used by the troops - Using UK, Canadian, US and Australian bullets and guns.....It's just business after all.

Anyway; just a thought. My business is dangerous ideas and I'm always up for debate and criticism. What do you think? Do you even care?

You Bore Me

I Heart Recession

Via I heart recession AKA the egregiously talented Jason Li of Hong Kong (Currently in Barcelona I think)

Banksters & Economic Simulacra

I didn't want to say too directly back here (Simulacra economy, economic hologram, economic hallucination) but I think this graph from Rob's Posterous says it more clearly. But I would agree with that wouldn't I....... to paraphrase Mandy Rice Davies.

This doesn't mean some of my friends are not Bankers; as Jason Li humourosly cartoons for us back here.

White Boy

I've been trying to get Unilever to do this for YEARS. I've even told a good friend of mine who sells skin whitening lotion at a Global level, that I know how to circle the square (sic). How to pace round the quadrilateral with a menacing stare. Well at least now that I know that even to make racial judgements is in itself philosophically racial as my learned friend Tim once taught me.

Nevertheless the intellectual justification that circumscribes the square thinking of the peasant classes of say late 17th century rural Anglosaxon versus say the emerging bourgeoisie in the cities towards a tendency that darker skin meant working the agrarian economy, in a field contrasted with ladies (and men) bearing parasols, meant wealth and the coveted lifestyle that went with that, thus pushing them into a lifestyle that white was right, or at least admirably better is no basis for assuming that it's OK to encourage  similar thinking in the early 21st Century - The field is muddled by other points but let's stay on track with not contrasting the communications budgets of white tanning lotion versus skin block.

I've written about this at great length elsewhere and made my position clear however as, Unilever have failed to embrace my solution for what I've seen in research groups means that I give it to the internet and possibly cover my exposed and vulgar rear should I be exposed for selling whitening cream in the future.

So here goes.

While I really did not enjoy hearing in the focus groups of Asia that lighter skinned Asian bourgeois preferred not to take lunch (or sit at the table) with their darker skinned but equally talented non skin whitening colleagues. I do know there is a RESPONSIBLE solution to any corporation's intent.

Make sure the packaging and the communications on any skin whitening range use the words "XYZ Corp, embrace people of ALL colours"

In this way they make it known that while making a healthy profit on said skin care category is arguably pernicious; intellectually it says what is most important. It's OK to lighten your skin like the early agrarian economic classes of Europe most wished for, but that doesn't mean we as a corporation don't love y'all black assess too.

Word.

Adidas/Y-3

The Y-3 collaboration between adidas and Yohji Yamamoto is one of my favourites. I thought their store refit in the IFC building of Hong Kong was a one off, but it appears they are well coordinated with a coherent campaign using Google Earth as a store locater visual. Pretty hip move. Well mapped out. More please.

Hong Kong Electric

The Hong Kong Electric logo is mostly used alone when I see it out and about, and it kicks ass. But best of all they've got CCTV at the top of their wind generator which is a scientific experiment to propel Hong Kong's energy needs into the future tapping into Typhoon power and erm where my last phone, mobile, keys etc were swiped from the KLEIN.

Update: This is one of my most popular posts please take a look at this post.

TSIMFUCKIS

Sitting in a bar in Hong Kong a couple of days ago, with easily the most interesting women who had the good grace to sit and listen to my "grand theory" which stretches from renewable resources to wealth creation (along with my latest stolen report to Hong Kong police by a TV Channel runner) and takes sometime.

"Anyways" as the Jamaican bad boys like to say I noticed a couple of publications that I asked the landlord to take with me.

The first had a picture on the front that I found unsettling and yet strangely compelling. It's called ADMARTASIA Magazine and I suppose you could say it's an Asian Craigslist but there were two (actually three) outstanding and compelling points to the publication. The first was the article on Progeria which highlighted once again that for some reason Youtube is the "lets get retarded in here hangout" for comments that are cretinous. It's just the way it is, 21st century acne and saliva or puberty-trying-to-type?

Later I picked the magazine up again and read the founders piece on the publication which are usually vanity puff pieces in Asia but in this case was written with honesty, balls and intelligence. The reason for the magazine? Because as we've all been talking about for some time and two friends are actually doing the future of the internet is print and I've tipped my hat enough times about "transmedia planning" over the years.

Ladies and Gentlemen meet Wayan Chan. Smart smart smart.

T Shirt Culture

Visit Plannersphere

That T Shirt I'm wearing in this picture is a screen printed Interesting 2007 original that went along with a lot of other deeply cherished T Shirts (and more) that frankly meant more to me than the luxury goods items I stupidly left in my suitcase which was stolen or "borrowed" depending on what sort of writer one is.

So this is a good place to tell Hong Kong that if you ever see this unique T Shirt which has the full name of the longest city name in the world underneath the Interesting 2007 screen print  which is Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphop or the full name of Bangkok known locally as the City of Angels (all of this in Thai though), then give me a holler. Otherwise fellow planners, don't forget that both Facebook and Ning have great planner resources and you can add me on there or twitter or even Plazes which I noticed today was looking a bit sorry for itself.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom

Obviously I cunningly set this post up by linking it with the title and cultural narrative reference of the previous post. 

I got it going on like that sometimes.

Sadly, I've met more "creatives" and seen more "creative" storyboards and read more "creative" treatments like this in Asia than I should ever admit if I didn't want to earn the wrath of the "creative" community. I could also write a swift list of people who I revere as advertising creatives but it's a lot shorter and I always tell them when I like their work.

Drunken advertising put a smile on my face too. Thanks to John for alerting me to them and    tolerating the whole bacon abuse situation.

Boom

There's a couple of sound bites that I always use when people ask me about China because I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Beijing and previously in Shanghai. I got to really think about those difficult questions that aren't easy to answer, or rather, I had many attempts to answer them and get a little better each time. One of them, and it still applies from the bottom of my heart because Beijing taught me that the people there are among the finest that one could wish for as future Leviathan capital city of the planet managing the largest population in one fell swoop is that 

"China is both a few years old, and a few thousand years old at the same time"

I say this because it's one of the most exciting countries on the planet and viscerally feels like a young country. Yet at every conceivable juncture the history of thousands of years in is evident in the customs, the pride, the food, the language and on and on it goes. It permeates the air, the posture of the people and is dense with a high viscosity should you ever get into the sensitive topic of culture in China.

The other quote that I use is more to tame the excesses of a young country (that I love) when considering the responsibilities it will need to face much quicker than any empire philosophical or otherwise to date.

"No country will grow faster, larger and older than China in the history of the world"

Now this might be a slight stretch as I think Italy is doing remarkable demographic time-bomb things as far as an aging population goes but in principle; in terms of size China is the fastest story ever. This incredible graphic below from the ever remarkable All Roads Lead To China Blog is as good as it gets for telling the story visually.

Socialist Pig

I love this. Via Daria

Paul Isakson - Social Media Presentation

Paul has done a great presentation on social media that has some new points well worth thinking about and some old ground that we all need reminding of; particularly if your business is structured around squeezing out 30-40 second spots of film geared up for the old 20th century broadcast model.

Social Media: It's Not What You Say That Matters

View more documents from Paul Isakson.

American Apparel

There isn't a spreadsheet in the world that will prove American Apparel's idea to use the scraps of material they usually discard, as a sales asset, will once again show why they are opening outlets at a considerable pace, all over the world. 

Because they are a company that puts outcomes ahead of incomes the profit follows naturally, but if you put the numbers before the values you're competing with the rest of the mediocrity (sic).


Update: I bookmarked this in my delicious (mmm yummy) when I learned that a Federal raid on American Apparel busted them for hiring illegal aliens and lost the brand 1500 employees or a third of their workforce. American Apparel I salute you. But maybe that outlet in Beijing was a bit premature though ;)

And While We're At It

The first 5-10 seconds of sound on this one is probably as stunning as the first time I heard Acid music way back in 1988. Not bad pop either. Probably the sort of thing I'd sample for Cillit Bang to convey that it cuts through any shit you either can see or conceive of.

Powerful.

Ferociously effective.

Just a thought.

K - POP

I've been pompously sniffy about pop music and especially so when I grasped just how easy  it is to package the stuff that makes the young salivate so easily.


So I really much more enjoy anything from (unclassical?) Classical and say Minimal Tech - The good stuff mind but then I would say that as I haven't really paid attention to anyone of significant pop music popularity with mandatory good looks and maudlin lyrics, for more years than I can remember.

However, I've had an enforced loss of music. Some 30 Gigs or so of quite choice and select music that went with the cab driver. To make up for this I've been swiping peoples music off mobile phones and I've had an epiphany about Korean Pop music. Yes it's often formulaic, yes it's all about pretty boy bands, or (but not and as they dont mix) girl bands that are too hot for a middle age man to gawp at for more than a second or so, but the facts remain.

About 5-10 percent of K-Pop is top notch pop. The productions are flawless, faultlessly lavish, choreographed cleverly and lastly the music is obviously Korean though frequently with often an English chorus deployed, so we (including the rest of Asia) can all join in or get the gist of the usual teen themes of love that could never spin off tangentially into gender dysphoria issues or handicapped sex because which I just cranked up the imagery deliberately for emphasis rather than any fixation with amputee sex or what not.
In any case as far as K-Pop goes, the music is kick ass in sections and this compensates for the relentless parade of pretty boy good looks and skin that I don't see many women able to match without recourse to traditional concealment techniques. I wont mention the K Chicks because they are stunning, and a charming conclusion to the topic is beyond me right now.

Here is 2PM's "Again and Again" and it's worth more than one listen because there's something heartfelt in it apart from the preternatural pretty boy band expectations it's difficult not to prematuraly conclude.

I'll go as far as to say that K-Pop has something going on right now that has the potential to go really global. I am also currently blown away by the production of Britney Spears who is clearly lacking in talent but a blindingly scary showcase for how good music can be if the best of the best in production are involved. Style over substance? Yes. But then so is moisturiser, lipstick and nail varnish even though I've written at length about cosmetics recenty and I'm not what the Germans would call part of "die brutale emanzipierte frauen" brigade.